Modified health care services of SPMC as a designated COVID-19 facility

ABSTRACT

@#In the Philippines, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has accorded a tremendous challenge to health care in terms of protecting frontline staff from contracting the virus and providing optimal medical management to patients with or without COVID-19. Across the globe, even countries with well-developed healthcare systems are battling COVID-19 with great difficulty. In terms of local response, on March 15, 2020, Davao City was placed under community quarantine1 to limit the movement of people and curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Further restrictions on work, businesses, transportation, and other daily activities were imposed during an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from April 4, 2020 to May 15, 2020,2 3 4 5 followed by a 15-day general community quarantine (GCQ).6 7 Patients from Davao City who are suspected of having COVID-19 began to be referred to the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) starting in early March 2020. The SPMC Laboratory Unit also started processing reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests for the diagnosis of COVID-19 as a subnational laboratory late in March. Being the only subnational laboratory in the southern Philippines during the first few weeks of community quarantine, SPMC processed most of Mindanao's COVID-19 RT-PCR tests.